2-Mischief
Thick forest vegetation surrounded the trees as Kaliel traipsed along the thin, winding path. There wasn’t a lot of space between the trees and shrubs that dotted the south side of the mountain, but it provided a sense of comfort. She was well-covered; not many of the kinfolk were brave enough to trespass for all sorts of reasons. Maybe nobody would catch her after all. She smiled to herself as the path curved around a patch of ferns and trees dropped away, giving more room for shrubbery. She neared hedges on the side of the main road into Orlondir. They didn’t have a lot of roads; the only ones thick enough for carts were the ones from the three provinces of Avristar—Evennses in the south, Amersil in the west and Araraema in the east.
Kaliel ducked behind the pristinely trimmed hedges. She peered over them on her tiptoes and breathed a sigh of relief. No one was stalking the grounds. Desaunius wasn’t standing on the moat with her arms crossed, pacing back and forth like Kaliel had imagined. All she had to do was cross the bridge and push open the big heavy doors and she’d be inside the courtyard.
She pushed through the hedge, careful to conceal the orb. She quickened her pace and skipped over the bridge, glancing over the railing at the fishes and swans. Her frail hands pushed against the big doors and even though it took a lot of force, she managed to get them open wide enough so she could slide her body through. The courtyard was empty. Trellises crawled along the walls and statues adorned the walkways. Kaliel moved to the archway leading into the Grand Hall.
Beyond the archway were two wide staircases, one leading to the west, the other to the east. Ahead of her was the continuous creamy marble floor that stretched across the hall and curled around a fountain in the center. A glamorous chandelier of glowing crystals hung above the fountain, while water trickled off of lily pad-shaped sheaths into the pool below. It always made her breath catch, being the most sophisticated room in all of Avristar. In the dawn light the hall was empty. She crept up the staircase to the west and passed the large double doors to the library. About halfway down the corridor she reached the tiny hallway that led to the individual rooms for the kinfolk.
She almost jumped out of her skin as she turned the corner and saw a figure standing in the shadows. A hand flew to her mouth to stifle a scream and the figure moved, showing themselves. She almost let out a growl.
“What are you doing there?” she whispered.
Pux—with his hairy face, vest, and animal legs clad in knee length breeches—frowned at her. “Where have you been all night?”
Kaliel glanced at the floor and took a deep breath. “At the waterfall.”
Pux seemed frightened. “Why would you stay there?”
Kaliel sighed. He showed her where the waterfall was, but he never expected her to like it. He was so afraid of water he wanted her to go there and draw it for him in her journal. She could see from his expression he had stayed up all night waiting for her to return. “Sorry,” she muttered.
Pux smiled. “Never mind it.” He looped his arm through hers. “Come on, you can sit on my cot and tell me all about it.” He pulled her down the hallway, but Kaliel froze, remembering what had happened.
“I’m really tired. Can we talk about it later?”
Pux sighed. “Okay,” he said. “Besides, you do look terrible.”
Kaliel self-consciously lifted a hand to her cheek and shook her head. “Does it look like I’ve been anywhere?” She feared Desaunius noticing all the subtle differences in her appearance: splotchy cheeks, bags under her eyes, disheveled hair.
Pux inspected her, brushing a leaf out of her hair. “Try to sleep late then. They’ll be awake soon and I’ll distract them while you try not to look like you’ve spent the night in the bush.”
She gave him a half-smile. “Gee thanks.” He looped his arm through hers again and pulled her down the hallway to one of the six doors along it.
“Goodnight, milady,” Pux said. He tipped an imaginary hat as he opened the door for her and ushered her into the empty room. Kaliel half expected Desaunius to be sitting on the stool in front of the bureau, but it was empty. She let out a breath as she passed Pux and moved towards the cot. He swept around her and pulled back the quilt. Kaliel gave him a wistful look as she slid onto the cot and let him cover her with the blanket.
“Sleep well.” He winked as he bounded towards the door.
She laughed; it was always like that with Pux—playful and carefree. He paused at the doorway to look at her and she slumped into the pillow and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Goodnight!” she whispered loudly as she heard the door close.
Once he was gone, she let out a sigh and opened her eyes only to trace the patterns in the wooden beams above her. It was really hard not to think about what Krishani had said to her, and worse than that was the way he made her feel. She winced as she shifted and pulled out what was left of the orb of ice.
She rotated it in her hands, over and over again, repeating the conversation in her head. Krishani really wasn’t like the rest of them and that made her feel warm and tingly. She put the orb of ice on the blanket and let it soak into the quilt while she folded her hands across her lap. The Fire Festival was over; this was their last night in Orlondir. In the morning she would be going back to Evennses. She wasn’t even sure if she would be back for Beltane. With so many other kinfolk it was more likely someone else would go. She sighed as she realized he was right.
She probably wouldn’t see him again.
Not even if she wanted to.
• • •
Krishani glanced back at the Elmare Castle in the distance, its turrets glimmering against the sunset. The Brotherhood was on their way back to Amersil, already past the apple orchards. It was customary for the Brotherhood to stay after the Fire Festival; being part of the winner’s circle entitled them to a final feast with Lord Istar and Lady Atara, the appointed sovereigns of Avristar. Krishani had slogged through the meal, not really enjoying the sparkling water and honey-crusted quail. He had pushed a lump of bread through the sauce as he tried to make it look like he was eating. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to seeing girls. He saw them all the time at the festivals—elvens with fiery or chestnut hair, feorns with trimmed facial hair, even fae folk with shimmering skin and glass-like faces. The problem was he never met anyone like Kaliel. It wasn’t about her beauty; everyone on Avristar was beautiful. Well, maybe not the feorns, but the elvens and fae were breathtaking. It was more about her disposition. She was curious and naïve and it made him worry about her. He never worried about anyone he lived with; all of the brothers were independent, even scary at times considering the things they could do.
She didn’t have an air of arrogance about her, not at all. It was refreshing compared to the way he was ogled by the girls from Evennses and Araraema—not in a romantic sense; they were just awed by his very presence and often tripped over their words when talking at him. He never said anything, never even bothered to make eye contact with them.
But he saw Kaliel, in a way he’d never really seen anyone else in his life.
“What has you deep in thought?” Benir asked as he stepped into line with Krishani. The forests were drab, trees thickening around them as the path narrowed towards Amersil. Adoron led the brotherhood at the head of the pack with his staff in hand. It was carved with symbols that signified his triumphs. He had too many of them to count. Krishani glanced at Benir; the elven had blue eyes and tousled dirty blonde hair that he kept pushing out of his eyes. Benir might have been a couple of summers younger than Krishani, but he had more skill.
Krishani shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Benir sighed. “Another year over.”
Krishani grimaced and then smiled at Benir. “Another year of triumphs.” He tried not to sound disgruntled. It was more triumphs for the rest of the brotherhood, but sometimes they didn’t notice that Krishani never won.
Benir beamed. “And more tales to tell in the Lands of Men!”
Knots formed in Krishani’s stomach as he thought of the nightmares, the endless sea of deaths that plagued his dreams. “Aye, the Lands of Men.” He pushed his hands into the wide sleeves of his cloak.
“Zulnas will take his last rite soon,” Benir continued.
Krishani didn’t like Zulnas. He was the oldest of the brothers, and the most boastful. Adoron and Sigurd wanted him to stay in Avristar and become an elder, but Zulnas was in pursuit of adventure. Krishani thought the Lands of Men were dangerous, but for Zulnas it seemed the other way around. The Lands of Men would fear him, and as a Judge, they would have full reason to.
“When will he marry the land?”
“Beltane as always,” Benir said. He seemed distracted as they trudged through the forest passing over the well-worn dirt path, their cloaks brushing along ferns at the feet of the trees. He looked at Krishani, his eyes full of concern. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I heard about Tolemny. Talnas asked me to come with them to repair the damage.”
Krishani looked at the canopy and sighed. That was the first time he tried to pass the second rite, the one he was supposed to have passed almost four summers ago. He glanced at the trees, trying to see through them as far as his sight would allow. Rays of sunlight speckled throughout the shadows, making it difficult to see all that far.
“It was an accident,” he said as he quickened his pace, trying to put distance between himself and Benir. He was going to ask Adoron a random question, but Benir kept up with him.
“We never make mistakes, precision—”
“I know,” Krishani snapped. He tried to continue walking at a normal pace so the others didn’t notice, but he didn’t like where Benir was going with this. He didn’t have the courage to tell his brothers that even with all the training, when he tried to manipulate the elements, they lashed back at him and caused mass destruction to the land. Benir went quiet and Krishani wondered if he actually saw what had happened to Tolemny. “Did you go with them?”
Benir shook his head. “I was too busy with chores.”
Krishani stiffened and nodded. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“You didn’t pass the rite though,” Benir pointed out.
“Nay.”
“They’re going to make you do it again, soon probably.”
Krishani sighed and closed his eyes. He knew they would push him as much as they could, make him repeat the rite again and again until he passed it. It almost felt like his nightmares; how they came again and again without relent, as though if he saw enough bloodshed he would pass some other rite. The thought made him shudder as a swift cold wind blew through the trees.
Benir sniffed the air. “Almost home.”
Krishani smelled burnt hazelnuts and it reminded him of simpler times, summers long before the Great Oak’s parable and the Brotherhood, long before the rite, but never before the nightmares. No, there wasn’t a time he could remember before them.
He pulled his hood over his face and kept his eyes down as they passed the last stretches of forest into their village.
* * *